www.incontinentsupport.org

I will be traveling internationally in the future, and would like some thoughts on how others have managed their incontinence. I will be with a group of 22 people on a pub tour in Ireland. This will not occur until May of 2021, but my anxiety is already surfacing. One couple traveling with my wife and I know of my incontinence and need to wear diapers, but the others do not. One of the couples I know, but are not aware of my issues. They may know about my prostatectomy, but I'm pretty sure they do not know that I need to wear diapers. My question is, should I tell that couple of my situation, or play it by ear? I will obviously need more luggage, so that might cause some questions. I also am somewhat anxious traveling with 20 or so others that I don't know. I'm probably way too premature with this question, but if anyone has experienced a similar situation, I would appreciate any advice? How did you manage? Thanks.

Dennis

In recent years my wife and I have joined bus tours of Ireland and the national parks of Utah and Colorado. A useful trick is to use a vacuum cleaner hose to evacuate as much air as possible from a bag of disposables. You might be surprised at just how much air you can get out, and how much smaller the package is afterwards. In Ireland we visited several pubs; I carried a spare diaper and plastic bag for disposal in my shirt, and nobody was the wiser. However, you do need to keep your fluid consumption under control.

dp66: Recently I was in a situation similar to what you are getting into.
My Wife and I were on a two-week driving trip in Europe with another couple that are very good friends of ours. They know I have some "prostate issues" but don't know the extent of my IC and that I have to wear diapers. I knew that space was going to be very limited in the car while driving around, not to mention I didn't want to drag around yet another suitcase. With this in mind I decided to use the same protection concept I used on a previous two-week trip. On that trip I used a premium pull-up (Abena Abri-Flex and Molicare Mobile) with a Male Guard pad. However using lessons learned from my previous experiences I tried to use a bathroom whenever available, even when I didn't think I needed to. This greatly reduced the number of pads I needed to use and also reduced the volume of the voids I couldn't control. When I felt a pad was full I got into a closed stall, removed and replaced the pad with a dry one concealed in my pocket. I simply rolled up the used pad and dropped it into the trash on my way to wash my hands, nobody was the wiser.

On our previous trip a bathroom wasn't usually readily available and this caused me to end up filling my pad/pull-up to capacity fairly often and risking a leak. Fortunately I didn't have any significant leaks but it was a cause for constant anxiety. This time it was a pain to be constantly using a bathroom but it did relieve my anxiety so it worked out OK and I had no leaks at all. I ended up using about 14 premium pull-ups, about 32 pads, and several flour sack cloths. I use the cloths at night instead of a pad since they absorb more and wick very quickly. In the morning I simply bagged and threw them out when I did have a night wetting. This added up to a volume about half of what 30+ good quality diapers would have taken up so it left me a good amount of luggage space for regular clothing. I realize this approach may not work for others with heavier incontinence but for my moderate IC it works very efficiently.

@Padded53: your suggestion is really brilliant. As my incontinence is moderate during the daytime I use premium pull-ups and use a bathroom as often as possible. However, I still have accidents once or twice a week (and thus need to change which is not easy). I’ll try adding a male guard. I’ll give you an update later.

@dp66: try Padded53’s suggestion first when you’re at home and tell us if it that suits you.

I agree with Patrick about fluid consumption but you still have to drink enough, otherwise the smell of urine will be stronger. You just need to strike the right balance.

Thank you for the suggestions. I keep thinking that someday this will be a non issue. However, it's been nearly three years since my prostatectomy coupled with the removal of a large diverticula so I'm not too optimistic. I've tried days without protection with some positive results, and some not. I haven't been brave enough to venture too far without some kind of diaper. The suggestion of placing a pad inside of a pull up, and removing it when wet therefore being able to continue wearing the pull up is something I may try. The problem I have with that is if I would have a flood I would have to change everything. That means removing my pants in order to change...more complicated. I guess that is why I prefer tape on diapers. I have almost a year to figure this out. Who knows what I'll be confronted with in that time span. I am now dealing with heart disease as well. I'm closing in of 73 years. This geezer stuff is getting harder and harder.

Changing a pull-up in restrooms is not easy, that’s right. So I put on a pull-up before going out. During the day I try to go to the bathroom as often as possible and before I feel the need to go (often too late when I wait). I always have a tape on diaper and wipes in my bag, so when I have a flood I can remove the pull-up without removing my pants and put on the fresh diaper.

I wear a diaper with a booster. As others have suggested, I find significant convenience and peace of mind with the ability to change out the booster. Its much easier and more discreet to go into a stall, untape the diaper, replace the booster with a dry one and retape the diaper and throw away a booster than to change the entire diaper. This strategy becomes handy when I am traveling with other people when discreteness is a priority.

DP66,
I have been in similar situations working on a TV crew in Israel for 3 weeks several times. I used the Abena Abriflex super absorbent pullup and a Tena slip Maxi over the pullup. At night I used an Abena M-4 with a PUL pant over that, just in case! Since I was in the country for 3 weeks I was able to order supplies from a company there in Israel. They delivered right to my hotel. That way I was able to bring just a few days worth of supplies when I flew over. Your situation will be a bit different, but you are doing a great job of planning ahead. Feel free to PM me if you would like more information.
Gary